Skeletons Revealed
by jpstar57
Summary: What if Mac and Diane were sisters and Mac was the one to avenge Diane's murder. Meg/Harm & Mac/Gibbs
1. Chapter 1

_**Skeletons Revealed**_

Premise: What if Mac and Diane were sisters and Mac was the one to avenge Diane's murder.

Saturday, July 27, 1996

0425 Hours

Pier Seven

Norfolk, VA

The USS Seahawk had been in port for the past twenty four hours. Lt. Diane Schonke was walking off the aircraft carrier after her skeleton crew watch. She was going to the apartment she kept in Arlington to meet her husband Peter Schonke. She was going to need his help in dealing with a troubling matter from her time on her duty cruise. She was hoping to get it out of her way quickly as she was finally assigned to a land duty. That being the case she was eager to fulfill the agreement she and Peter made of starting a family as soon as she was assigned land duty.

Diane had volunteered to be on the last skeleton crew watch because Peter was away from the apartment that day and evening. He was a Secret Service agent assigned to the Presidential Detail. That night he was away with President Clinton on a campaign trip. She hoped to surprise him when he returned home in the morning. She had a red lingerie outfit in mind, satin sheets and no reason to leave the marital bed.

Unfortunately those plans were never going to come to pass.

1030 Hours

Pier Seven

Norfolk, VA

As Lt. Commander Harmon Rabb of the Navy's JAG Corps, climbed out of the JAG sedan, was speaking with his wife on his cellphone. "Yeah I'll see you when you get here. Too bad we didn't know before we left the house this morning, we could have saved Gibbs the ride over to pick you up. Yeah I love you to."

Harm hung up his cellphone at that point as he waited for his partner Lt. Caitlin Pike to come around from the passenger side of the car to join him.

They were at Norfolk on the report of a dead female Navy lieutenant.

They walked over to the car where the dead body of the lieutenant had been found. They saw that there was a full body bag on a stretcher. They first encountered an irascible man who was chewing on an unlit cigar. He was portly and balding. He looked up from his notebook and seeing Harm and Cait said, "Lookie, lookie here comes JAG,"

Harm and Cait shared a look. As they approached the man, they saw the NCIS badge clipped on his belt who stuck out his hand and identified himself as, "Agent Turkee." (He pronounced it Tur-kay.)

Harm replied and introduced himself, "Lt. Commander Rabb and this is my partner Lt. Pike."

Before Turkee could reply to that, another pair of people came over. One was a man who was a fit 39 years at 6'2" in height with ash blond hair, with gray sprinkled throughout, cut short and parted in the middle. The other person was a shapely tall female, 29 years at 5'9" with strawberry blond hair cut short framing her lovely face. They both acknowledged Harm and Cait with looks that spoke of easy familiarity and Turkee with looks that were something close to loathing.

Turkee spoke first as he said, "Gibbs, Austen so glad you got here so soon. I only called you ninety minutes ago."

NCIS Special Agents Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Meg Austen Rabb acknowledged his greeting with a grunted, "Turkee." They pronounced the name Turkey, after the bird.

Gibbs continued as he asked, "What was so urgent that you had to call us off our double murder case?"

Turkee responded acerbically, "When I checked her cellphone, I saw that you were one of her In Case of Emergency contacts. That's why I called you. Come over here so you can identify her."

Gibbs, Austen, Rabb and Pike followed him over to the stretcher with the body bag. Before he opened the bag he flipped open his notepad and went through the victim's pedigree, "Lieutenant Diane Schonke, ne. Mackenzie.."

Before he could continue, Harm went over to the body bag and jerked the zipper open. When he saw the face he slumped in distress. Meg came up behind him and looking over his shoulder said, "Oh Diane!"

Gibbs also slumped in dismay.

Cait was the only one not in the know as she asked, "You guys knew her?"

With a sigh Gibbs reached for his cellphone. This was a call he so badly didn't want to make. As he waited for the other end to pick up he answered, "She's my sister in law."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Skeletons Revealed**_

_**Chapter 2**_

June 1, 1996

1530 Hours

Austen Ranch

Outside Amarillo, TX

It was a hot sunny day in this part of the Texas panhandle. Meg Austen stood on the porch of her family home. The guests were assembled in the big living room in chairs set up like church pews. The wind rustled the skirt of her wedding dress. She could see through the screen that her husband to be was squirming with impatience. As the wedding music began, her Naval Academy classmate and maid of honor Diane Schonke was just getting ready to walk through the door and up the aisle. Meg stepped through the open door when the music changed to the bridal march. She marched confidently up the aisle on the arm of her family friend, Colonel Oliver North.

When they reached the front of the congregation, North handed her to the groom, splendidly decked out in his dress whites. She thought to herself, "They're right dress whites and gold wings do look really good.

The groom smiled to himself as if knowing what she was thinking. Lt. Commander Harmon Rabb took Meg's hand and advanced to the preacher.

As they listened to the ceremony they thought of how they got to this place.

They were officer attorneys in the Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps. They had met during the summer when Harm was two years into the Naval Academy and Meg came in as a plebe. After Harm graduated they didn't see each other until almost a year and a half ago when they had to work together to resolve a hostage situation. A computer geek had rigged a remote control torpedo to shadow a cruise ship. He would not disarm it if he was paid millions of dollars. After that they had solved many cases and grown fond of each other. They began seeing each other outside of their work. Knowing that Meg was of a lower rank than he, Harm had been very careful in not crossing the line into conduct unbecoming.

It was only five months ago that Harm had confessed his love for her. This was after Meg had been shot and nearly killed by an assassin out to get the visiting Russian president. So after she recovered sufficiently enough and passed her physical readiness review, Meg had asked for a transfer to NCIS. Once she was there Harm wasted no time in asking her to marry him.

As Harm listened he saw out of the corner of his eye that his mom was crying happy tears. Trish had been so insanely happy when Harm called and told her the news. After that she was a little upset that he and Meg wanted to get married so fast. Harm had told her that given that Meg had nearly died, they decided not to have a protracted engagement and wanted to get married before the 4th of July holiday. So after the initial surprise, Harm had put her on the phone with Meg. Meg suggested that Trish call Meg's mom, Margaret. The two mothers had hit it off immediately. The wedding plans had been taken over by the two, thus relieving Meg and Harm of worrying about the details.

After the ceremony, the wedding party and the guests went out to the tent set up in the huge front lawn where a Texas barbecue had been prepared.

After the initial festivities and traditional wedding frivolities, the guests had settled down into enjoying the party. Eventually Harm was sitting taking a break with Diane. He asked her, "So little Mac how's your sister the Marine and her husband, the other Marine?"

Harm was the only person Diane allowed to call her that. She still smirked indulgently when she answered, "They're fine. You know if Sarah wasn't about to give birth to her and Jethro's baby, they would have been here."

"Yeah I know. She and Jethro sent a card with a gift telling us that and that they were happy for Meg and me," Harm said. He added, "It still doesn't seem that long ago since we all met at Annapolis when you, Meg and Sarah came at the beginning of my third year. You and Sarah had so much fun confusing us upper classmen. Keeter, Sturgis and I didn't know which one we were addressing when we would meet either one of you alone. Thank God she went into the Marines. It was only after that that we're able to tell you apart."

Diane smiled with a deep twinkle in her eyes, "Yeah we had fun for the two years we were together. After you graduated, we and Meg had fun confusing the new plebes."

Harm laughed as he said, "Yeah Meg told me that the three of you were the toughest upperclassmen that they had to face. How's Sarah doing in her JAG billet? Isn't it time for her to rotate out. I hope she gets assigned to headquarters in Falls Church."

"Yeah that will probably happen shortly after she comes back from maternity leave. Still until then San Diego is nice. Our mom is nearby since she moved there after our dad died in Fresno two years ago, so she'll have grandmother help after the baby comes," Diane explained.

"Good to hear. How's Jethro dealing with becoming a father again?" Harm asked.

"Oh he's fine. He's been through it before when Shannon had Kelly. Also at 7 years old Kelly's a big help," Diane explained.

"That's good to hear. I would have thought that Kelly resented Jethro getting married again so soon after Shannon was killed by that drug dealer after she witnessed him murdering someone," Harm said.

"Yeah Kelly's lucky that she was at school when that happened and that she wasn't in the car when Reynosa went after Shannon and ran her car off the road," Diane said sadly.

"Yeah there was that. Still it was great when she and Sarah got close after Sarah investigated the murder. She took Kelly under her wing until Jethro came home from his deployment and then when he went with the DEA Task force into Mexico after Reynosa," Harm said.

"Yeah Jethro still won't talk about what went down on that mission. The only thing he would say was that Reynosa wouldn't be bothering anyone anymore," Diane said.

"Still it was good that they were able to get passed that and be together," Harm said.

"You know that incident in Mexico and wanting to be with Sarah was the reason Jethro went into NCIS. Otherwise they would never have been able to get married," Diane said.

"I kind of figured that. Still it's good that we're all finally married. When do you and Peter plan to start having babies?" Harm asked.

"Well I still have the rest of my deployment cruise to complete. I have to go back there tomorrow. I have my detailer looking into land postings in Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia for my next billet. Maybe when that happens," Diane explained.

At that Diane's husband, Peter Schonke came over to them. He held out his hand to Diane and said, "May I have the next dance Mrs. Schonke?"

Batting her eyelids coquettishly and speaking in a southern accent Diane stood up and said, "But of course sir."

Same day

1145 Local Time

Balboa Naval Medical Center

San Diego, CA

Sarah Mackenzie Gibbs had been in labor for the past four hours. Her water broke when she was home that morning. She thanked her lucky stars that her husband Leroy Jethro Gibbs had just returned from taking their daughter Kelly to school.

After getting his wife to the hospital and settled in, Gibbs had gone out and notified his supervising NCIS Agent, Mike Franks of his situation.

Franks had said in his characteristic gruff tone had told Gibbs, "Probie just do what you got to do. I'll see you in two weeks."

Jethro went back into the labor room to be with his Sarah. The attending nurse he remembered was named Suzanne told him, "Watch out daddy, she's finally fully dilated. We're going into delivery!"

Once into delivery Suzanne and another nurse bustled back in with the bassinette and a sterile tray. They began to rearrange the room in preparation for the actual birth.

"This is Kelly," Suzanne said.

Noticing Sarah's grim face, she added, "I know it hurts, honey, but you are so far along that we don't have a lot of options at this point. Can you hang on a little bit longer?"

Sarah nodded.

Suzanne picked up the strip of paper recording the baby's heartbeat. "Everything looks great, but it will get a little worse before it gets better, okay?"

"I'm a Mar.." Sarah inhaled sharply, the pain escalating to a whole new level.

"Let me take a look," Suzanne said.

She moved to the end of the bed and lifted up the drape again. "Oh, my... Kelly get the doctor. Now, please. My goodness, Sarah, you are an over-achiever, aren't you? The head is almost half way out. Do you want to see?"

Sarah nodded while Jethro shook his head and looked anyway.

Suzanne pulled a large hand-held mirror from one of the trays and angled so that Sarah could see the baby crowning.

Sarah began to cry.

"Everyone ready to have a baby?" questioned the doctor from the door.

"She's at ten," reported Suzanne, "and crowning. All right, Sarah, at the start of the next contraction, take a deep breath and hold it while you bear down for a ten count."

Suzanne looked at Jethro. "Daddy you, count to ten, okay?"

Jethro nodded and looked down at Sarah. Her hair was completely soaked now and her cheeks deeply flushed. The other nurse was on the other side of Sarah's bed watching a monitor.

"Deep breath, Sarah," she said.

Sarah complied and began to bear down.

Jethro began to count. "One... Two... Three..."

At ten, Kelly instructed Sarah to release her breath.

"You're doing great, Sarah," said Suzanne from over the doctor's shoulder.

"Probably another two, three pushes and the head will be out," Suzanne said.

"Quite the head of hair, too," the doctor remarked.

"Deep breath, Sarah," Kelly said again.

"One... Two... Three..." Jethro counted again.

"Great, just great," exclaimed the doctor. "The head's about a third of the way out. Do you want to feel it?"

"Cleansing breath," said Kelly.

Sarah nodded in answer to the doctor's question.

"Let me have your hand," said Kelly. She stretched out Sarah's arm and placed Sarah's hand on the baby's head.

Sarah smiled up at Jethro.

"Deep breath," said Kelly once more.

"One... Two... Three..." Jethro began.

"Sarah, push as hard as you can," encouraged the doctor. "I think we can get the head out this time."

"Six... Seven... Eight..."

"When he reaches ten, exhale, then inhale immediately and start again,'" instructed Suzanne.

"Ten."

Sarah exhaled then inhaled and the whole thing started all over. She groaned as she pushed. Jethro kept his eyes glued to her face.

"That's it, Sarah," the doctor said. "Take a breath, the head's out."

With the quick use of an aspirator, the doctor cleaned out the baby's nose and throat.

Sarah looked down the length of her body in wonder when she heard a wobbly cry. Suzanne held up the mirror again.

"The hardest part is done," the doctor said.

"Deep breath," said Kelly.

"One... Two... Three..." said Jethro.

"We just have to ease the shoulders out," said the doctor, using his index finger to help wedge the baby's shoulder out, "...like so... and the rest of your baby will just slide right out. It's a boy!"

Sarah sobbed in relief at the immediate cessation of pain. She looked down at her son lying quietly on her belly.

The nurse rubbed him gently with a towel to remove some of the blood.

"Just a few more minutes for the afterbirth," remarked Suzanne. "Does he have a name?"

Sarah nodded. "Matthew."

"All right, we've got to take Matthew to test him and get him cleaned up. We'll bring him back in a little bit," Kelly told her.

Sarah nodded and looked up at Jethro. "Jethro, honey," she said softly. "Thank you."

"No sweetheart, thank you,' Jethro said giving his wife a tender kiss.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Skeletons Revealed**_

_**Chapter 3**_

Saturday, July 27, 1996

1100 Local Time

Gibbs – Mackenzie Residence

Manassas, VA

Major Sarah Mackenzie Gibbs was enjoying the day off, even though her husband and his investigating team had the weekend duty. Jethro called her telling her that he was out of the office answering the report of a double murder in Fairfax. He said, "Call me on my cell phone honey if you need anything."

Sarah and Jethro had just settled into their rented home just the week before. A week after she had given birth to their son Matthew, Sarah had received orders of her being transferred to the JAG headquarters in Falls Church. The Navy had given her till the end of her six weeks to report. So she and Jethro had taken advantage of the down time and moved. Now Sarah had time to make their house, even though it was rented, into a home two weeks before she was due to report to the Navy's JAG, Admiral AJ Chegwidden.

She was sitting at the kitchen table breast feeding Matthew while her daughter Kelly was making her scrambled eggs. At eight years old, Kelly was rather good at cooking simple things, under her mom and dad's supervision of course. For which Sarah was eternally grateful.

Just as Kelly put the eggs on a plate, the phone rang.

"I got it mom," Kelly said as she turned the flame under the pan down and picked up the portable phone.

Sarah only heard Kelly as she said, "Hello? Oh hi dad. Yes mom's right here feeding Matthew. Okay here she is."

Sarah settled Matthew a bit on her lap with one hand before she took the phone from Kelly with the other. "Hi sweetie what's up?"

Kelly didn't hear what her father told Sarah but she knew it wasn't good as she saw Sarah's face go from happy curiosity through bewilderment to distress. Matthew was startled out of his feeding as Sarah wailed, "Nooooo not Diane! Noo! Tell me it's not true!"

Kelly went right over and took hold of her baby brother from his mother's lap as Sarah dropped the phone onto the floor and her head into her hands as she was wracked by great heaving sobs.

Balancing Matthew, Kelly bent to pick the phone up. She heard her dad yelling, "Sarah are you there?"

"Dad you better come home. Mom's not doing so well," Kelly said to her dad.

Kelly barely heard her dad's acknowledgement before she pushed the end button. She turned the flame under the eggs off and without a word took her brother and put him into the playpen in the next room. Then she went back to her step-mother and put her arms around her from behind.

Kelly asked, "Mom, are you going to be alright?"

Sarah lifted her head and pulled Kelly around to the front and then enveloped her in a tight hug and continued to cry out her grief. Kelly just stroked Sarah's hair until she calmed down enough to talk.

Sarah had pulled herself enough to give Kelly a kiss on her temple and gather her deeper into the hug.

"Thank you baby, you're such a good kid. I'll be alright now," Sarah said still sniffling.

She looked down and saw that she was still in a state of undress from breast feeding her son.

"Oh God I'm such a mess," Sarah complained as she set about straightening her clothing.

She took Kelly's hand and had her sit down at the table before she started to explain. "That was your father. He just found out that your Aunt Diane was killed. He's out at Norfolk with Meg, Harm and Cait Pike. I guess he's on his way home now huh?" Sarah finished with a sad watery smile.

"Uh huh, oh mom I'm so sorry," Kelly said as she went to receive her own cathartic embrace from Sarah.

From the embrace Kelly asked, "Do they know what happened?"

"No baby they don't. The investigation is only beginning," Sarah explained.

Despite her pain, Sarah vowed that she would get involved in that investigation, no matter what anyone said about being emotionally attached.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Skeletons Revealed**_

_**Chapter 4**_

Wednesday July 31, 1996

0830 Local Time

JAG Headquarters

Falls Church, VA

Mac walked into her office and angrily dropped her briefcase and handbag onto her desk. Then she took two folders from her briefcase and walked out of the office intending to go into her CO, Admiral AJ Chegwidden's office. She wanted to discuss her sister Diane's murder case with him. She had just received new evidence by mail at home the previous day. She wanted to present it to Chegwidden as she thought the officer who was running the case was incompetent.

As Mac walked across the bullpen that officer came out of her office, saw Mac and said, "Major Gibbs would you come into my office," Commander Allison Krennick said, commandingly.

Mac stopped and replied, "I'm sorry ma'am I can't right now. I have an appointment with Admiral Chegwidden. We both know he does not like to be kept waiting."

"Well in that case stop by after your meeting with him," Krennick commanded.

"Aye ma'am," Mac replied neutrally then turned and continued onto Chegwidden's office. After his Yeoman, PO Tiner notified the admiral of her presence, she went in after the usual knock and command of "Enter."

Mac approached Chegwidden's desk and stood at attention, looking at a spot two feet above and behind his desk chair and said, "Admiral yesterday I received some evidence via the US Postal Service and other sources that you need to see."

"At ease, and have a seat," AJ said reaching for the first folder Mac was giving to him.

AJ opened it and read the contents, looked up at Mac and said, "Have you shown this to Commander Krennick?"

"No sir I have not," Mac stated flatly.

"Any reason why?" AJ asked impatiently.

"Sir permission to speak freely?" Mac asked in reply.

"Granted," AJ said curious to hear her reason. He had a clue but he wanted to verify it first.

Mac began her explanation, "Sir, even though my husband Agent Gibbs has been told to stay away from my sister's murder investigation, he still receives briefings from his investigative team. Well Jethro has informed me that Agent Turkee and Commander Krennick have been going around the Seahawk muddying the waters. They are following-up on false allegations that my sister had been having a lesbian affair with her roommate Lt. Sarah Williams. Then after she couldn't prove that, Commander Krennick accused Lt. Commander Rabb of having his own affair with Diane, practically implicating him as a suspect and then she removed him from the case, saying he wasn't obeying her orders of following the leads she has come up with. That was after she had the nerve to implicate him for murder when Agent Turkee found Lt. Lamm shot in the head, but then couldn't make it stick because Harm was with Meg at the time of Lamm's death."

"Well she did inform me of that, but the only reason she first thought Lt. Commander Rabb would be a suspect was because he and Lamm had a fight in the diner the day before," AJ said.

"Be that as it may sir, Commander Krennick is reckless with the truth. She does everything to make the evidence conform to her preconceived notions, not disclosing information pertinent to the case and withholding evidence by dismissing or not reporting interviews," Mac pointed out.

"Are you accusing Commander Krennick of doing that? Because if you are, you better be damn sure of your evidence major," AJ said threateningly.

Handing over the other folder Mac explained, "Yes sir I am and other things as well. While my husband may not be allowed to investigate Diane's murder, as I said before, his investigative team has been thoroughly involved. Agents Meg Rabb and Tony Dinozzo have interviewed the crew members who were on duty during the alleged time of the murder. An Ensign Bud Roberts told Agent Rabb that he overheard Commander Krennick making dinner arrangements with the Seahawk's Executive Officer, Commander Holbarth. Also as indicated by the report in the second folder, they knew each other from Annapolis. Furthermore because of that prior relationship, Commander Krennick dismissed what Lt. Williams told her of Holbarth when she interviewed her, which is a serious violation of investigative ethics, further proved by the document in the first folder."

After reading the documents Mac handed him AJ said, "I see your point." He then asked, "And what action do you think I should take major?"

"Sir, give this evidence to Harm and Lt. Pike and allow me to assist them. They will ensure that I keep my emotional distance and you will have zealous investigators working this case and not hit on every person of the opposite sex."

AJ thought about her request for a minute and then said, "Okay major you have your wish. Wait here a minute while I have Tiner copy this material and I summon Commander Krennick."

Mac sat and waited until after Tiner returned with the copies and Krennick entered the office. While Krennick stood at attention AJ said, "That will be all major. Share that evidence to Lt. Commander Rabb and Lt. Pike and continue as we discussed."

Mac got up, snapped to attention and said, "Aye, aye sir." She turned smartly about face and marched out of the office. She was totally amused to see sweat popping out from Krennick's hairline.

She went right to the office Harm and Cait shared and said, "Okay flyboy, lieutenant, grab your hats we're going back to Norfolk."

Harm and Cait followed Mac as she went to her office and retrieved her hat and handbag. Harm asked, "What's up?"

"We three are going to work my sister's murder case," Mac explained.

"Wow how did you arrange to pull it away from the dragon lady?" Cait asked.

"Careful lieutenant, you coming close to insubordination," Mac reminded Cait, handing her the folders for hers and Harm's perusal. As Harm looked over Cait's shoulder Mac smiled as she added, "And I agree with your assessment Cait."

Cait smiled back up at her then continued reading. She looked up in amazement saying, "This is what we needed in the first place. It could nail the bastard to the wall."

"Yuh think!" Harm explained, totally on board.

As they walked to the elevator Mac took a good look at Cait and made a suggestion, "Cait let's stop at your apartment first. I have an idea."

As Mac told Cait her idea, Cait's eyebrows went up and she asked, "Do you think it will work?"

"Yeah, he doesn't know Diane and I are twins. So we may shock him into revealing something," Mac said.

1040 Local Time

NCIS Headquarters

Washington Navy Yard, SE

After stopping at Cait's Georgetown apartment and putting the first part of Mac's plan into motion, the three JAG officers went next to NCIS headquarters to confer with Jethro and his team and to get one more thing done to facilitate her plan.

When Meg Rabb saw how what they did at Cait's apartment she asked, "Wow, do you think that will work?"

"Yeah I think it will," Mac answered.

"That's my wife, always thinking. I wish I could be there to see the look on his face," Jethro said smiling. He punctuated his statement with a kiss saying, "For luck."

After the kiss and out of sight from her colleagues and his team, Jethro pressed something into her palm. He said, "Keep it where you can get it fast, in case you need it."

"I will honey, thanks," Mac said with another kiss and dropped what her husband gave her into her purse.

1930 Local Time

Pier Seven

Norfolk, VA

Upon arriving at the Seahawk's pier, Harm, Cait, Meg and Tony went aboard together while Mac waited until she saw CPO Ned Bennon, the officer on deck leave. She knew that he was the last crewman to see Diane leave the ship before Lt. Lamm chased her down the pier.

Mac went up the gangway and signed in as Lt. Sarah Gibbs, showing the identification that she had made at NCIS. She could be identified as a naval officer as she had seen at the JAG Headquarters' elevator that she and Cait had the same body type. So she put on Cait's extra set of summer white uniform with slacks.

She made her way to the Officers' Wardroom. She was lucky as she didn't encounter any crewmen as she went through the ship. After pouring herself a cup of coffee, she sat at a table furthest away from the entrance with her back to the door. To occupy her she took a notepad out and started writing a letter. She smiled as she wrote endearments to Jethro.

She didn't have to worry about her hair, although it was as naturally dark as her sister's. Mac wore her hair short, with some red highlights while Diane wore her hair long, braided up for duty with no highlights.

Soon enough she heard Harm, Cait, Tony and Meg come into the wardroom with Holbarth. They settled at a table near the door. They all sat so that Holbarth had his back to where Mac sat. She could hear the conversation as she also had an earwig and wrist radio comm system issued for her, Meg & Tony to use.

"So commander how long have you known Commander Krennick?" Tony asked.

"I've know her since we attended the Naval Academy together," Holbarth answered honestly.

"I know Commander Krennick asked you this before sir, but what kind of relationship did you have with the deceased, Lt. Schonke?" Cait asked.

"And as I've answered Commander Krennick, Lt. Schonke and I enjoyed a very professional, platonic relationship. We sat together for dinner many times during our cruise," Holbarth answered.

Mac was steaming at that because she knew otherwise. She calmed down when she heard Harm ask, "Then please tell us commander, what do you make of this letter."

Harm handed over a letter sealed in a clear Evidence Bag. The letter was written on Seahawk stationary in an obvious female handwriting. Holbarth read a bit, but then blanched at what he saw. He stuttered trying to spin the allegations, "I, I don't have any idea what Lt. Schonke was writing about. I've never done the things she listed here."

"Oh really, then why do we have the same allegations from Lt. Sarah Williams in a letter received by the Inspector General," Tony said as he to pulled out another letter also sealed in an Evidence Bag. Before he handed it over to Holbarth, he read from it. Commander Holbarth has repeatedly hit on me, asking me to go with him on liberty and threatening me with a bad Fitness Report if I don't, in his words, show him some love."

"That's preposterous I've never said that to her or any other female on this ship. I rate everyone as I see them. I judge everyone on their merits, male and female alike," Holbarth protested.

"Well commander how do you explain this?" Cait asked pulling a few files from her briefcase. She opened the first one before she continued. "This is Lt. Williams' fitness report. You've rated her blow average. I also have few more fitness reports, all from female officers. You have consistently signed off on all of them with either below average or just about average fitness reports. I also have some files on male officers. On all of the files I checked, you have signed them all as consistently above or well above average. Can you explain that?"

"I stick by my earlier statement," Holbarth said in defiance.

"Then please explain why Lt. Schonke wrote what she did. Would you like me to read it to?" Meg said taking the letter from her husband.

Without waiting for Holbarth's permission she picked up Diane's letter and read. "Commander Holbarth has been consistently hitting on me. He is always indicating my wedding ring or lack thereof if I forget to put it on in the morning, asking me if I wanted to stay true to my wedding vows. I have always politely told him to stop asking me about my marriage as it was none of his business. He has even gone so far to threaten me with bad reports if I wasn't nicer to him. Sarah when I get back to port, I'm reporting him to the Inspector General's Office on charges of sexual harassment. I also have my roommate Sarah's support in this as she has also written a letter to the I.G."

"I have no idea what they are talking about. Lt. Schonke was always hitting on me," Holbarth sputtered.

Mac had been listening as Holbarth dug himself deeper and deeper into trouble. He had reached the moment she anticipated. When he accused her sister of hitting on him, she sprang up and from behind Holbarth and spat out, "You lying bastard, I never did that and you know it."

Holbarth turned at Mac's outburst and just about jumped out of his chair when he saw Mac. He sputtered in fright as he thought he was looking at a ghost as he wailed, "No you're dead, I saw you die. I put your body in the trunk myself. You can't be alive."

He started backpedaling to the exit. Unfortunately for him an armed marine lance corporal from the ship's Master at Arms detail, that Harm had requested be present, was blocking his way. Holbarth totally surprised the lance corporal when he turned and threw a quick punch which caught the him in the chin. As the lance corporal staggered back, Holbarth managed to grab the his gun from the holster at his hip. Holbarth pulled the lance corporal up in front of him and was waving the gun back and forth trying to cover as many people in the room as possible.

Harm was the first to speak saying, "Okay commander take it easy."

"Just stay back or I'll kill him!" Holbarth shouted. He was still waving the gun around, not pointing it at or holding it against the lance corporal.

Mac caught the lance corporal's eye. She made a move as if to tell him to use his elbow on Holbarth. Thankfully for her he caught the signal. As Holbarth looked out the door to make his escape, she reached into her purse. Her hand found the handle of the .38 automatic pistol that Jethro had palmed to her at NCIS.

Mac nodded her head to the lance corporal and he made his move. He stomped on Holbarth's instep and then jammed his elbow into his solar plexus. As the lance corporal broke free Mac called out, "Holbarth put the gun down NOW!"

Holbarth straightened up and pointed the gun at the direction of Mac's yell. Mac had a clear shot at Holbarth's central body mass. In the face of Holbarth's threat Mac stood stock still as she didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, twice. The first shot hit him in the left side, going right through his heart. The impact spun him a bit as well as made him fall back and to his left. The next bullet hit Holbarth in his right side going deep into the lung.

As the echo of the shots died away, the group could hear running feet in the corridor as the Marine Guards came charging to the sound of gunfire. When they came into the wardroom they saw Mac holding the smoking gun, standing over a dying Holbarth. Mac whispered as much to him as to herself, "That's for my sister."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Skeletons Revealed**_

_**Epilogue**_

Tuesday, September 23, 2003

2330 Local Time

Presidential Air Wing Waiting Area

Andrews Air Force Base

Former Secret Service Agent Caitlin Todd was walking toward where she parked her car. She was a former agent because she had admitted to having an affair with one of the officers on the Presidential Protection Detail. This was not tolerated in the Secret Service.

She stopped when she heard a man's voice from behind her say, "I hear that you resigned."

The man behind her was NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

"Yeah having an affair is hard on the job," Caitlin said.

"Well if you pull that crap at NCIS, I'll fire you for sure," Gibbs said cheerfully.

Caitlin stopped in surprise as she asked, "Are you offering me a job?"

"Yep, see you tomorrow morning," Gibbs called back as he hopped the barrier chain and got into the passenger side of a silver Chrysler Pacifica.

She saw that a very pretty brunette was driving as Gibbs leaned over to give her a good long kiss. Then she saw a pair of young arms reach from the back seat to hug him. He turned and received more kisses from first a redhead teenage girl, then a dark haired boy of about seven years old, then another blond girl of about 4 years and then he leaned over and kissed an infant in a carrier that couldn't be any more than a few months born.

After he doled out all his affections the brunette put the car in gear and drove away. 


End file.
